One of the more demanding uses of a fire hose is in supplying water for fighting of forest fires. In the past, it has been argued that forest fires are a natural occurrence and in some areas, such as the Yellowstone Park, the position has been taken to merely allow fires to run their normal course. Many persons and organizations, including government bodies, now recognize that it is beneficial to fight forest fires to reduce the amount of trees that are lost, to protect man-made structures and to reduce the amount of pollutants which result from the forest fire. Fighting of forest fires is generally carried out on three distinct fronts: manual, water bombers and chemical methods. Manual fire fighting methods include men spraying water on the periphery of the forest fire in an effort to stop the advance of the fire. This manual method involves supplying water to the fire fighters and this water is often drawn from a remote source. In extreme cases, water may be pumped from a source as far as ten miles away through fire hoses with various pumps in series along the length of the fire hoses to maintain the pressure. The fire hose, itself, includes an inner liner with an outer fabric layer. The inner liner does not provide a fully water-impermeable barrier and, when water is forced through the length of the hose under pressure, some water does weep through the liner and is absorbed by the outer fabric layer. This is beneficial as the weepage of water through the hoses protects the fire hoses from burning. After the fire hoses have been used in fighting of a forest fire, they require cleaning to remove dirt, sticks and other debris from the fabric surface of the hose as well as remove dirt from the interior of the hose, depending upon the source and quality of the water. In addition, the hoses can be damaged and may require repair to patch small defects. In the past, the hoses have been soaked to remove debris and dirt and then have been hung from rafters or other arrangements to air dry or, in other cases, have been placed in drying arrangements for faster drying of the hoses. Examples of drying arrangements for fire hoses are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,424, U.S. Pat. No. 976,656, U.S. Pat. No. 984,725, U.S. Pat. No. 684,741, U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,179, U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,059, U.S. Pat. No. 2,471,041, U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,781, U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,526, U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,794, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,432.
Forest fires occur primarily during a relatively short season, from the early spring to the late autumn. During that season, fire hoses may be in high demand. It is therefore important to recondition and/or dry the hoses efficiently so that turnaround is quicker and the total number of hoses that need to be warehoused is reduced. There remains a need to provide an efficient arrangement for drying of fire hoses.